Emotionally Intelligent Nursing

Critical Question Set 1
Blake Jenkins
Valdosta State University
College of Nursing

What does it mean to be emotionally intelligent? Emotional intelligence is, “possessing, social skills, interpersonal competence, psychological maturity, and emotional awareness that help people harmonize to increase their values in the work place”(Yoder-Wise, p.6, 2014). It is very important for a nurse to be emotionally intelligent because they are faced with countless interactions with many different people every day. Nurses need to be able to understand patient’s personal goals and respect their choices. To be able to achieve this, nurses must take in to consideration the patient’s social, emotional, and spiritual desires. For example, an

An emotionally underdeveloped nurse would not handle the situation properly. They might respond with, “Why? Research has shown that there is a very good chance for you to overcome this cancer. You would be crazy not to try.” While an emotionally intelligent nurse would take into consideration the patient’s feelings and understand why they do not want to go through with chemotherapy. Families respond better to a nurse that is emotionally intelligent because they show more care to the patient instead of acting like the patient is just a patient, and not a human being. An emotionally underdeveloped nurse makes work a routine and becomes distant from fellow nurses.
Leadership, management, and followership are the three basic components of a good leader. Leadership is “the

Some people may like to be told specific tasks for them to follow while others would want to be told what outcomes or goals are they trying to achieve and then let them reach it there own way, but with your assistance, if needed. Members of the younger generation say they would rather be led, not managed. This means that they want to work alongside of a leader and develop a vision for them to achieve together. They like to work towards a mutual goal, but have the flexibility to achieve it however they like. In contrast the older generation like to be managed and delegated specific tasks to be completed to reach a goal. As Yoder-Wise explains in her text, “Managers address complex issues by planning, budgeting, and setting target goals. They meet their goals by organizing, staffing, controlling, and solving problems. By contrast, leaders set a direction, develop a vision, and communicate the new direction to the staff”(p.57, 2014) It gets more difficult when nurse leaders have both types of nurses on their unit. They must come up with ways to satisfy both working styles. They may do this by delegating certain tasks or patients to the nurses, but allowing them to complete each one however they wish. This way they have a goal to complete each task by the end of the shift, but have the freedom to complete it in whatever order they see